Driverless cars on UK roads soon.

[Brandane]

The Government are to allow driverless cars on the road, according to the BBC.
My initial thoughts are that this is a good thing from a cyclists point of view. I would put much more trust in a car under the control of a computer than most of the cretins that have control just now.
Putting my driver hat on, I don't like it, especially as I get paid to drive when I choose to work. It is the future though, like it or not.

 

[swee'pea99]

I 'ad that Google in the front o' my cab...

 

[tyred]

I would appear to me that many cars already have no driver. At least it would seem that way from their behaviour and apparent lack of alertness and control.

 

[Beebo]

i imagine that most people will quickly realise that driverless cars in towns are a bit rubbish, and will stick with driving themselves.
The only time I can see a point in driverless cars is on long motorway journeys, and that wont affect cyclists in any way.

 

[CopperCyclist]

I wonder how they work. I anticipate they won't run over cyclists, else they couldn't be on the road - but can they safely overtake them? I worry that the car will simply never overtake, and thus we will end up infuriating people 'stuck' behind us...

 

[Brandane]

i imagine that most people will quickly realise that driverless cars in towns are a bit rubbish, and will stick with driving themselves.
The only time I can see a point in driverless cars is on long motorway journeys, and that wont affect cyclists in any way.

I reckon that the choice will be taken away from us in the not too distant future, as modern cars will probably be manufactured to be solely computer operated as the technology evolves.

 

[BSRU]

I wonder how they work. I anticipate they won't run over cyclists, else they couldn't be on the road - but can they safely overtake them? I worry that the car will simply never overtake, and thus we will end up infuriating people 'stuck' behind us...

I imagine the "brainy" people in government(helped by driverless car manufacturers) will fix that by banning bikes from the road

 

[Archie_tect]

So people in the USA really will be able to set the controls and go in the back and make a cuppa!

 

[Brandane]

I wonder how they work. I anticipate they won't run over cyclists, else they couldn't be on the road - but can they safely overtake them? I worry that the car will simply never overtake, and thus we will end up infuriating people 'stuck' behind us...

They can be as infuriated as they like; the computer won't let them do anything about it, by way of punishment passes and the like. Although it will give them more time to launch missiles out of windows .

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I wonder how they work. I anticipate they won't run over cyclists, else they couldn't be on the road - but can they safely overtake them? I worry that the car will simply never overtake, and thus we will end up infuriating people 'stuck' behind us...

Another thing is how will they get by on slalom type situations where parked cars only allow for one vehicle at a time. This has to be ''negotiated'' between drivers, usually by flashing ones lights. (People may remind me that the HC indicates this is not a correct use of lights but that tends to be how it's done.)

 

[PaulSecteur]

I think we need some sort of warning that a driverless car is approaching... perhaps a man walking in front of it waving a red flag...now thats the future!!!

 

[Paulus]

What about driverless cars trying to get out of a side turning onto a major/busy road. Will the car wait forever for a gap, or will it be programmed to barge out in front of the traffic like normal drivers do.

 

[summerdays]

This could be good and bad for cycling. On the one hand the person sitting in the drivers seat could spend ages looking at their mobile and not the road (though will they realise that it would be a benefit since they think they can do both at the same time at the moment), on the other hand, all those interactions with drivers when you get let out of a side road or across the front of a car to turn right might disappear.

 

[classic33]

Who'd be to blame in a collision though?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Who'd be to blame in a collision though?

Hackers.